Notice2023-13651
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Stranding and Gear Interaction Data Collection
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 27, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41597-41598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13651]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Stranding
and Gear Interaction Data Collection
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register on July 5, 2022 (87 FR 39806) during a 60-day comment
period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Stranding
and Gear Interaction Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0496.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission, revision and extension of
approved collection.
Number of Respondents: 750.
Average Hours per Response: STSSN Stranding Report form: 15
minutes; Gross Necropsy form (2 page version): 10 minutes; Gross
Necropsy form (4 page version): 15 minutes; Cold Stun form and Cold
Stun batch form: 10 minutes; Fishing Gear Identification form: 10
minutes; Incidental Capture Intake form: 5 minutes; Entanglement form:
15 minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,682 annually.
Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of
collection 0648-0496 entitled ``Reporting of Sea Turtle Entanglement in
Fishing Gear or Marine Debris''. We request to revise the name of the
collection from ``Reporting of Sea Turtle Entanglement in Fishing Gear
or Marine Debris'' to ``National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage
Network Stranding and Gear Interaction Data Collection'' and to add new
forms to the collection to be inclusive of all forms used by Sea Turtle
Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN).
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) share federal jurisdiction for
the conservation and recovery of sea turtles. In accordance with the
1977 Memorandum of Understanding between NOAA Fisheries and USFWS,
which was reaffirmed in 2015, NOAA Fisheries serves as the lead for and
coordinator of the STSSN. The STSSN currently responds to, and
documents, sick, injured and dead (i.e., `stranded') sea turtles that
are found in coastal areas under U.S. jurisdiction along the Atlantic
Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
coordinates the STSSN. The Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network (STDN) is
a part of the STSSN. The STSSN is a cooperative effort of authorized
Federal, State, and private partners working to inform causes of
morbidity and mortality in sea turtles by responding to and documenting
stranded sea turtles. Information is collected in a manner sufficient
to inform sea turtle conservation management and recovery. The STSSN
accomplishes this through (1) collection of data in accordance with
STSSN protocols; (2) improved understanding of causes of death and
threats to sea turtles; (3) monitoring of stranding trends; (4)
provision of initial aid to live stranded sea turtles; (5) provision of
sea turtle samples/parts for conservation-relevant research; and (6)
availability of timely data for conservation management purposes. To
facilitate this data collection, the STSSN uses several standardized
data collection forms. To ensure all data collected by the STSSN are in
the same collection, we propose adding the following forms to 0648-
0496: STSSN Stranding Report form, Gross Necropsy forms (2 page and 4
page versions), Cold Stun Event individual and batch forms, Fishing
Gear Identification form, and Incidental Capture Intake form (currently
approved in collection 0648-0774, expiring December 31, 2024).
All species of sea turtle found in U.S. waters are listed as
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA
Fisheries and the USFWS share federal jurisdiction for the conservation
and recovery of sea
[[Page 41598]]
turtles. Section 4(f) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544) provides for the
creation of Recovery Plans for endangered and threatened species and
provides NOAA Fisheries and USFWS with authority ``to procure the
services of appropriate public and private agencies and institutions
and other qualified persons'' in order to implement those plans. To
advance the conservation and recovery of listed sea turtles, each sea
turtle recovery plan developed jointly by NOAA Fisheries and USFWS
identifies and highlights the need to maintain an active stranding
network. Both NOAA Fisheries and USFWS have promulgated regulations
that provide an exception to the prohibitions on take and allow for
coordinated response to stranded sea turtles in water and on land,
based on their specific jurisdictional responsibility.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Not-for-profit
institutions; State, local, or Tribal government; Federal Government.
Frequency: As needed as sea turtle strandings occur and are
reported.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Collection of these data to inform causes of
morbidity and mortality in sea turtles is necessary to fulfill
statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.).
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0648-0496.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-13651 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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